Bolney Meeting Room, Bolney Meadows Community Centre, 31 Bolney Street, London SW8 1E

Transcription

1 NOTTING HILL HOUSING GROUP Bolney Meadow Local Scrutiny Panel (LSP) Minutes of meeting held on 21 January 2015 at 6.00 p.m. Bolney Meeting Room, Bolney Meadows Community Centre, 31 Bolney Street, London SW8 1E Chair: Vice Chair: Residents: (MO) (OB) (LV), (AL), (DS), (KS), (PP), (MC) NHHT (PRH): () Housing Manager (JA) Resident Involvement Assistant (RB) Minute Taker Apologies: (CV) (DD) (HW) (HY) Welcome and Introduction: ACTION The Chair opened the meeting with introductions. 1. Minutes of last meeting and matters arising: 1.1 Corrections to minutes from 22 October 2014: The Chair asked for any comments on the minutes of the last meeting. He referred to all actions from the previous LSP meeting which were featured in the 6 week Actions Update sheet (included in the papers and previously ed to all). Where actions were incomplete or there were queries, these were addressed as Matters Arising (see below). 1.2 Matters Arising: MO raised the following concern in regards to the use of the word we where the name of a company or panel should be used. He believes the minutes should be more specific. 1

2 1.3 DS raised Item 3.3: Update on the new repairs contract- Repairs DS said he felt that the question of whether the blocked drain was the responsibility of NHH or the council should have been included in previous minutes. The blocked drain is located at the entrance of Blandford House on the corner of Meadow Road and Fentiman Road. Action Points Remaining: MO confirmed that the rest of the action points from the last meeting had been completed with following up on one of them. was to investigate whether Lambeth would share the cost of addition bicycle storage on the estate. This is covered later in the minutes at section Performance Report: OB discussed that the panel decided at the pre-meeting that repairs should be discussed at the meeting today being the main issue along with estate management, rents & ASB. They briefly covered rental income and voids at the pre-meeting but were not able to discuss complaints as data is unavailable. Estate Management: MO questioned how confident NHH management was that 100% of estate inspections (EI) were completed by Housing Officers as reported in the performance report for the 3 rd Quarter and whether any of the residents check the notice board to see if they have been signed off. went onto explain the process of completing EI. When Housing Officers complete EI they complete a survey via Survey Monkey ( mentioned she had previously sent this survey to the panel) and a score would be provided. As a score is provided the report recognises that as a completed EI. noted that her expectations of Housing Officers on completing EI were by the 3 rd week of the month but NHH standards require that they are completed by the end of the month. MO queried whether it was possible that Housing Officers could make up scores to which agreed but said she had no reason to believe this was happening. She also mentioned if notice boards are not being signed off she believes it s a case of Housing Officers forgetting to do so and is happy with the monitoring and handling of EI as she has attended a few EI with Housing Officers and they do quite vigorous checks. AL and LV noted that their EI are always signed off in their blocks (Wareham House & Blandford House) notice boards. advised that if residents have concerns about grading they can attend these inspections. MO also queried why the external cleaning score had increased by 10%. advised she was unsure but she will find out the reason for the improvement and report back. ACTION: TO FIND OUT WHY THERE WAS A 10% INCREASE 2

3 IN PERFORMANCE FOR EXTERNAL CLEANING. Odourised cleaning in the blocks was discussed and advised Just Ask have reported that they are using it, but she has had no feedback from residents about it. LV mentioned she has noticed it being used in her block (Wareham House) and it gives the perception of it being cleaner but noted that the lifts do need more scrubbing. MC has noticed no changes in his block (Lulworth House) as he has been in the lifts just after they have been cleaned. advised she will confirm with Just Ask that the odourised cleaning is being used consistently with all cleaners and in all blocks. AL is happy with cleaning in her block (Blandford House). 2.3 ACTION: TO CHECK WITH JUST ASK THAT ALL CLEANERS ARE USING ODOURISED CLEANING. MO mentioned that he is a Resident Monitor but was unaware of this fact and would like to know who else is. He is aware that Resident Monitors can choose to remain anonymous. JA advised that she can get a list of Resident Monitors and send a flyer to them asking if they want to join the Bolney LSP as the panel are looking for new members. MO advised there is a Resident Monitor meeting on January 29 th which he can not attend. LV will attend as she is also a Resident Monitor. ACTION: JA TO OBTAIN A LIST OF RESIDENT MONITORS AND SEND THEN A FLYER ASKING THEM IF THEY WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THE LSP. Rents: MO queried letters that were sent to tenants in arrears, regarding setting up a payment plan and the requirement that their rent account always be in credit. MO noted that he believes these letters came from Housing Officers and questioned if this was NHH policy or just for Bolney Meadow residents. explained that it is not NHH policy to send these out, but it is a requirement of the tenancy agreement that residents pay in advance, rather than in arrears and has proven to be a successful tactic to reduce arrears. MO asked if there was data available to see how many people responded and set up payments plans. advised that it is not possible to determine why a payment plan has been set up so she would not be able to provide this information. MO then asked if there was any update on the two residents that were 20,000 in arrears and whether they are vulnerable. advised that no eviction can take place without the approval of the Permission to Evict Panel, a panel of NHHT senior managers. She confirmed that some people in high arrears may have vulnerabilities but the panel would be satisfied that enough was done to help them before allowing the eviction to proceed. The residents are now 27,000 in arrears and they are currently awaiting a bailiff warrant. A bailiff warrant can take months to be awarded and scheduled and residents can apply for a stay of eviction which is part of why arrears reduction is challenging and 3

4 2.4 takes a long time. went on to say that part of the stock transfer agreement prohibited NHHT from using Ground 8, a mandatory ground for eviction on Boleny Meadow, which explains part of why arrears are higher on Bolney than elsewhere within the Trust. MO also queried whether the arrears for Bolney Meadow would go down if the residents were evicted and responded that arrears would go down but it would not help the income collection for the estate. is confident that with the new changes to the Housing Officers at Bolney and the introduction of a fifth Housing Officer there will be a demonstrable reduction in arrears. Repairs: Repairs were covered briefly with MO mentioning that Mears are doing well according to report and figures have improved. KS asked whether there was any way to monitor non-standard repairs, as with contractors being able to subcontract up to 10% of jobs this only applies to responsive repairs and there is a high dissatisfaction rate. mentioned that Breyer Group, the new contractor for the South, will be doing all jobs including voids and there will be no such thing as non-standard work after the contract starts in April, so this will no longer be an issue. 3. UPDATE ON CHANGES TO NEW REPAIRS CONTRACT: asked the panel how they feel about losing Mears as their repairs contractorand advised that there may not be too many new faces as toupeed employees may transfer to Breyer Group. MO discussed the new framework and NHH having no history with Breyer Group but agreed they looked good on paper. discussed the new structure at NHHT and advised the Housing Managers and Contract Operations Manager will sit together and decide how money is spent in their area. The new Contracts Operation Manager will be DM, who is a currently the head of repairs at NHHT for the North, South, East region. MO mentioned that he was aware of the workshops available for Housing Officers & Housing Managers to get feedback and learn about the new processes in terms of repairs. advises that she feels good about David McLean s ability to get the contract started well and to help build bridges between Breyer Group and NHHT. KS asked if under the new contract it would take more time for Housing Officers to raise repairs. informed the panel of new software that is due to be implemented in time for the start of the new contracts which raises repairs, purchase orders and adds entries to the HOP all with one move, so it will shorten the process of raising repairs. The panel directed questions to : OB- How will NHH manage Mears leaving and ensure that incomplete jobs are handed over smoothly to the new contractor? advised this is a known concern and although she has no definitive answer today they are considering maybe allowing Breyer 4

5 Group to start the week before the contract starts but all the details are still in negotiation. We are still unsure whether Mears will complete existing jobs after the new contract starts or whether Breyer Group will take the jobs over and finish them. OB- You said in your update that Mears was in talks with Breyer Group to see who would cover the South and that NHHT were awaiting the contractor s acceptance of the award. Have awards been accepted and are negotiations still ongoing between Mears and Breyer Group? - All the contractors have accepted their awarded locations and it has been finalised that Breyer Group will work in the South. MO- What quality control measures are in the new contract? - Key Performance Indicators are being negotiated at the moment and discussions are ongoing as to what NHHT want and expect and what penalties / incentives will be incorporated into the contract. OB went on to mention that compensation for missed compensation is not widely known and he believes NHH should be enforcing it and it should be automatic. advised that the compensation is not automatic and is available at the Housing Officer s discretion, for example if a resident complains or is particularly inconvenienced by the missed appointment. Housing Officers on Bolney believe that automatically compensating could lead to a lot of dissatisfaction because the money is only available for Mears missed appointments but managing expectations around which appointments are eligible for compensation could be difficult. is not sure yet if there will be a similar compensation scheme with the new repairs contract. DS stated that he thinks missed appointment compensation should be automatic and prioritised. explained the pot of money for missed appointments is similar to the pot of money for disrepair or for other categories, where NHHT do not advertise the existence of the pot because not all circumstances require it. ACTION: TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE PROGRESS OF THE NEW REPAIRS CONTRACT AT 6 WEEK UPDATE. KS- Do contractors have an incentive for a first time fix? The panel discussed that repairs needs must be correctly identified and the vans must be properly stocked. - It is difficult to make first time fixes a Key Performance Indicator because if a repair is not properly described, the operative may not be prepared to fix the actual problem but this would not be his fault. In order to ensure the operatives have the parts they need, NHHT are currently looking into having a space at Bolney Meadow to store spare parts. 4. BRAINSTORM ABOUT TRAINING MATERIALS FOR NEW REPAIRS OPERATIVES 4.1 RAP Meeting: The panel discussed minutes of the RAP meeting including day to 5

6 4.2 day repairs, cyclical work and customer service training relating to the new repairs contract. To improve customer service, the panel believe that Housing Officers should ask the correct questions to identify repairs, but also residents should accurately describe the repair need and contractors should have the correct stock in their vans. advised that there is a new app which is being trailed within Notting Hill Home Ownership where residents can raise their own repairs. MO asked what would be the main difference with the new contract that residents will notice. advised there will be improved communication around cyclical repairs. The panel then discussed how repairs operatives can ensure good customer service under the new contract. The panel agreed that contractors should ask residents before using anything that is not required for the job as this creates a good impression, including asking to use the toilet, etc. They suggested all operatives should have conflict management and diversity training and recommended that operatives wear shoe covers, bring plastic covering for furniture and flooring and book follow on appointments whilst on site with the resident. advised that she believes the current contractor books follow on appointments whilst on site and that operatives call the planners with the resident present. The panel then agreed to meet separately to discuss any further suggestions for customer service training and feed it back to. ACTION: THE PANEL TO COMMUNICATE VIA OR MEET TO DISCUSS WHAT/HOW TRAINING SHOULD TAKE PLACE. LV noted her general frustration about having to go through her Housing Officer to make book repairs appointments. She does not believe this is effective because the Housing Officer has to go back and forth between the planners and resident multiple times to find a time that suits both parties. LV would like to see planners arranging appointments directly under the new contract. says this is unlikely to happen because it is contrary to the ATB model. The panel discussed how jobs are checked and recalled. advised that when jobs are not done properly, they are recalled and NHHT does not pay the contractor to come out again. She said there are a number of ways for jobs to be recalled and residents can request a recall by contacting their Housing Officer. Repair supervisors post inspect jobs randomly (50 a month). DS asked if tenant can call contractor to say the job needs to be inspected. responded that residents should always contact their Housing Officer to arrange a new appointment. If a resident feels a job is not done correctly, the Housing Officer would arrange a recall and not an inspection as inspectors will only inspect and another visit would then have to be arranged to then fix the problem. MC asked if the new repairs contractors will be wearing uniforms and carrying ID badges. confirmed this should be the case, but as the contract has not yet been finalised, she does not know the specifics. The panel asked for more detail about overdue repairs. They wanted to know if it was possible to analyse the overdue repairs data for Bolney Meadow to determine if there were patterns and lessons to be learnt about why repairs take longer than expected and how this could be minimised. explained that typically works 6 ALL

7 become overdue because of hard-to-source parts that take a long time to be delivered. The panel requested ACTION: TO PROVIDE DETAILS OF OVERDUE/TIMING OF REPAIRS. WHEN/WHY IT IS OVERDUE. MO began discussion about whether it would be a good idea to have a resident attend the contract repairs meetings between NHHT and Breyer Group when they start. said the meetings were weekly and discuss the specifics of other residents properties, complaints, etc, so it might not be appropriate to have a resident present. MO suggested there could be value in having a resident s perspective at the meetings. The panel agreed that the issue should be fed upward to the ATB Committee. 5 UPDATE ON ESTATE IMPROVEMENT SURVEY RESULTS AND STATUS: 5.1 Cycle Storage: advised that Lambeth have agreed to share the cost for new bicycle storage but would only agree if NHH agreed to have the storage professionally managed. NHH have chosen to go with CycleHoop, since they manage Lambeth s cycle scheme and manufacture the bikehangars. CycleHoop will be responsible for managing the application process and the spaces, carrying out repairs and cleaning all of the secure bicycle storage on the estate. Residents will be charged 42 per year per space and the storage will be available exclusively to residents of Bolney Meadow. advised that as a result of the additional bikehangars in conjunction with the converted laundry rooms, there will be secure storage for 76 bicycles. CycleHoop has recommended conducting a lottery to determine who will receive a space in order to ensure everyone has equal access. The details are still be confirmed, but her intention is that residents will be able to select a space near to their home. The panel then went onto discuss the new storage and DS felt that NHH have introduced a cost where there was previously no cost. mentioned that she has enquired about non secure bicycle storage but the police where opposed to it as they believe it encouraged crime. The panel then discussed the possibility of having both secure and non secure cycle storage and possibly using some of the funding that was set aside for enhanced landscaping on the estate since Ginko are not moving quickly enough to provide details and quotes. The majority of the panel decided to install the secure cycle storage and wait to provide unsecure storage until they know if there is a demand for it. The panel asked for a map of where the secure cycle storage will be located. ACTION: TO SEND A MAP OF WHERE THE BICYCLE STORAGE WILL BE LOCATED ON THE ESTATE. 6. AGREE AGENDA: 7

8 6.1 The panel discussed what they would like to scrutinise at the next meeting. They agreed they would like to focus on ASB, but asked that a status update on the Northern Line extension and customer service training for repairs operatives also be on the agenda. The panel would also like to discuss the new parking contractor and will prepare some questions outside of meeting so NHHT can prepare responses in time for the next meeting. ACTION: MO TO ARRANGE A MEETING FOR COMPILE SUGGESTIONS FOR ITEMS FOR THE AGENDA MO 7. A2B COMMITEE MO informed panel he attended the PRH away day in October and he found it very interesting. There were discussions on the IT vision, estate management and social purpose. MO gave a brief summary of the A2B Committee meeting and advised LSP minutes were sent out to the committee. He stated that there is a tenancy focus group on January 29 th which MO and KS will attend. 8. A.O.B. 8.1 The panel queried whether residents would have to purchase new visitor parking permits when the handover takes place to new contractor. advised that residents will not have to purchase new permits but it has not yet been determined they can use existing permits or they will be replaced for free with those belonging to the new contractor. She also stated that flyers will be going up on notice boards in each block by the end of the week informing residents of the outcome of the survey. 9 SUMMARY OF ACTIONS ACTION: to find out was the reason was for the 10% increase to the external cleaning performance score. ACTION: to check with JustAsk that all cleaners are using odourised cleaning product. ACTION: JA to obtain a list of resident monitors and send then a flyer asking them if they would like to join the LSP. ACTION: to provide a new repairs contract update at 6 week update. ACTION: to provide details of overdue of repairs, including when/why they are overdue. ACTION: The panel to communicate via or meet to discuss ideas for what topics should be covered as part of the repairs operative customer service training. ACTION: to send a map of where the bicycle storage will be located. JA ALL MO 8

9 ACTION: MO to arrange a meeting with the panel to come up with scrutiny questions for next meeting. The meeting closed at 8.20 p.m. Next meeting: Wednesday, 29 April 2015 Venue: Bolney Meadow Community Centre 9